Respond.io Freemium

respond.io is a shared inbox for messaging channels — WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, Telegram, Telegram, LINE and email — with AI agents that qualify leads and route conversations. Free tier covers 5 users and 50 contacts; Growth starts around $79 per month.

What is respond.io?

Malaysia-founded, and popular in Southeast Asia and Latin America where WhatsApp is the default business channel. It sits in a crowded category with Wati, 360dialog and Sleekflow. What respond.io does differently is treat messaging channels and email as one contact record, with lifecycle stages attached.

The AI feature set is called AI Agent: it answers first, asks qualifying questions, then either closes or hands off to a human with a summary. You can cap how many AI turns run before escalation.

Product Features

• One inbox for 9+ channels including official WhatsApp Business API, not the personal-app workaround.
• AI Agent with knowledge base grounding and configurable handoff rules.
• Broadcast campaigns with template approval workflow for WhatsApp’s 24-hour window rules.
• Workflow automations: assign by team, tag by keyword, send follow-ups after silence.
• Contact lifecycle stages (lead, qualified, customer) plus custom fields.
• API and webhooks for pushing into your CRM.

Is respond.io free?

The Starter plan is free forever for 5 users, 50 contacts and 200 monthly active contacts on messaging channels. Growth is roughly $79/month billed monthly or $199/month for Advanced. AI Agent is charged per resolution on top of that in most configurations, which is the part people miss when budgeting.

WhatsApp itself charges per conversation separately, so your total is respond.io plus Meta’s fees.

Product Highlights and honest limits

• WhatsApp Business API setup is handled for you, which saves weeks of Meta paperwork.
• Free tier is usable, unlike most competitors that only offer a 14-day trial.
• Per-resolution AI pricing gets expensive if you run high-volume support.
• The interface has a learning curve; expect a few hours before workflows make sense.
• Email support inside the inbox is functional but not a replacement for a real helpdesk.

Use Cases

Quick Summary

• respond.io is an omnichannel messaging inbox covering WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, Telegram and more.
• Free Starter: 5 users, 50 contacts. Growth: about $79/month with per-resolution AI charges.
• Strong where WhatsApp is the main business channel; weaker as a pure email helpdesk.